


Wear Something Nice

by Steadfxst



Category: Pundit & Broadcast Journalist RPF (US), Real News RPF
Genre: Crack Treated Seriously, Hand Jobs, Making Out, Multi, Polyamory, Quickies, Threesome - M/M/M, Workplace Sex
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-07
Updated: 2018-08-07
Packaged: 2019-06-23 05:32:51
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,712
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15599385
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Steadfxst/pseuds/Steadfxst
Summary: There was only one thing that wearing purple to work could possibly mean.





	Wear Something Nice

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ruthvsreality](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ruthvsreality/gifts).



**[Prologue]**

It starts off as an inside joke that they make up in college—

_“Why purple though?” Chris says with a laugh._

_Jim shrugs._

_“Why not?”_

_And it sticks._

_Chris is only a little surprised when Jim gives him a look when he wears a purple shirt to a party one night._

_“Purple?” Jim asks._

_And it shouldn’t make the hair on Chris' arms stand up, and it probably shouldn’t make his dick twitch in his jeans, but it’s Jim, so it does._

_“Uh-huh.”_

_Chris takes a nervous drink of shitty beer from his classic red cup. He’s hoping that he didn’t severely misunderstand things._

_“Let’s go somewhere quieter,” Jim says._

_Chris puts his cup down on a table already crowded with empty cups and bottles._

_“Okay.”_

_Neither of them have much experience, but it’s not too difficult to figure out that Jim likes it when he puts his mouth on him. And Chris learns that he really likes it when Jim wraps his hand around his dick with more confidence than he probably has._

_“That was—”_

_“Yeah,” Chris agrees._

—that they bring with them to CNN.

 

 **[1]**  

Years later, they both somehow end up working for the same network. They’re both newbies, so it’s nice to see a familiar face in the cafeteria. They catch up and laugh like old times when Wolf Blitzer walks by. They try not to stare.

“Was he wearing a—?” Chris whispers.

“Yes.” Jim answers, trying to hide a grin. “Yes, he was.”

 

**[2.1]**

Jim and Chris don’t know what it is about CNN hiring a whole host of new hosts in 2013, but there’s a guy named Jake Tapper there who showed up shortly before them who makes an effort to welcome them to the fold.

“I know we’ve all been doing this for a while, but it’s always weird starting at a new network,” Jake says.

He pays the cashier and chooses a table for them to sit at. Jim and Chris follow him and put their trays down at his table. It feels like high school again.

“It’s important to make the newbies feel welcome,” Jim jokes.

“You’ve only been here six months longer than me, Jimmy,” Chris says.

It makes Jake smile, and Chris decides that he wants to make Jake do that a lot.

Slowly, they get to know each other, and Jake is a pretty cool guy. Most of the folks at CNN are, which is a relief.

“Drinks after work?” Jake asks, popping his head into Chris’ office.

Chris looks up from his computers.

“Oh, sure. I just have to—”

And he stops. Jake cocks his head to the side, furrows his brow.

“Something wrong?”

Chris blinks. Shit. There was no reason to let their childish game screw up this perfectly nice work routine he had going.

“No, I just—forgot something for a second there. But drinks sound great! I’ll call Jim.”

Jake smiles.

“Great. I’ll meet you at the usual spot!”

Chris nods and pulls out his phone to text Jim.

_Jake’s wearing a plum colored tie today. He also wants to get drinks with us after work. Should we tell him?_

Chris stares at his phone for a few minutes, wondering what Jim will say. Maybe he was being a creep for bringing it up. Maybe Jim was no longer into the whole idea of casual hookups…Or maybe he was no longer into the whole idea of ~~joking~~ about casual hookups with colleagues…

_We should definitely tell him._

 

**[2.2]**

Three drinks in, Jim catches Chris’ eye, and Chris smirks.

“What was that?” Jake asks.

“What was what?” Jim asks.

Jake looks between them before giving them one of his looks. The ones he’s kind of becoming known for at HQ and to his viewers.

“Okay, okay,” Chris says. “It was Jim’s idea.”

“Because you’re so innocent?” Jim teases.

“You’re the one who introduced it to me,” Chris says.

“Can one of you just tell me?” Jake asks, sipping his craft.

“You’re wearing a purple tie,” Jim says.

Jake pulls the bottle away from his lips, brow quirked.

“And that’s noteworthy?”

“It is if you’ve got a mind like Jim’s.”

“Meaning?” Jake asks, wary.

They can almost feel him slipping into professional journalist mode, trying to get the answers he wants out of them.

“Meaning you want to get laid,” Chris says.

Jake blinks.

“Care to elaborate on that one?” Jake asks Jim.

Jim licks his lips. He can’t tell if Jake is insulted or interested, and it makes something stir in his stomach.

“It’s just a game Chris and I play. Played.”

“It’s something we did in college. If someone was wearing purple, then it meant they were interested.”

Jake grabs his drink again and takes a long swig.

“You two played this game in college, huh,” Jake says.

Chris feels his cheeks heat.

“Once or twice.”

“Does anyone else play this game with you?” Jake asks.

“Not knowingly,” Chris says.

Jim clarifies, “Mostly we just laugh to ourselves when someone at the office wears it.”

“And you want to ‘play’ with me.”

Jim notices that he purposely doesn’t phrase it as a question.

“Maybe,” Jim says. “If you want to.”

Jake looks at the table, taps his fingers on the side of his nearly empty bottle, and rubs his thumb against his wedding ring.

“I—I need to make a phone call first.”

 

**[2.3]**

“It—It’s been awhile,” Jake says. “My wife and I—”

“It’s okay,” Jim says, cutting him off.

They don’t talk about that here. That’s not what the space was meant for. Still, he can tell Jake feels guilty, and that makes him feel guilty by extension.

Chris catches Jim biting his lip, deliberating the pros and cons of going through with this, and grabs Jake’s chin to kiss him deeply. Jake obediently opens his mouth in acceptance. Satisfied that Jake was on-board, Jim cozies up behind him and holds his hips in his hands, hard enough to bruise, grinding against his ass. Jake cants his hips back and moans.

“There,” Jim says softly. “That’s it.”

 

**[3]**

“Morning, Jake,” Wolf says with a wave.

Jake looks up from his notes to see Wolf pop his head in. Jake smiles and holds his coffee mug up in a toast.

“Morning.”

Wolf moves on, and Jake goes back to his work.

Wait.

Was he…?

Jake stands and peeks his head out of his door in time to see Wolf turn at the end of the corridor. There was no question. He was wearing a purple tie.

Did Wolf…?

Jake shakes his head.

No. There was no way.

…Right?

 

**[4]**

“It’s nice to be in the studio instead of doing a remote,” Kaitlan says, taking her seat on the panel table across from him.

There was a massive storm pummeling the East Coast, and Jake doesn’t blame her. He think about how glad he is to be warm and dry too as he continues flipping through his notes. Just a final check to make sure he hadn’t somehow forgotten something important.

“This kind of bad weather always makes me wish for a mug of hot chocolate,” she muses.

That did sound nice. He looks up from his notes to agree with her, and that’s when he actually sees her. Well, sees what she’s wearing, that is. She had donned a darling mauve.

Jake opens his mouth to speak, but no words come out. What had he just been about to say? He’s not sure.

Kaitlan tilts her head.

“Everything okay?” she asks.

“Fine. I’m fine. Just—thinking about what you said about hot chocolate. My grandmother used to make it for us when it snowed.”

Kaitlan smiles fondly.

Was there something more to her smile? Something to indicate that she knew what message she was sending by wearing a jewel-toned dress?

“You’re fitting too snugly into the ‘creepy boss’ role,” his brain supplies.

He shakes his head slightly, as though to physically bat the thought away.

 

**[5]**

“A lilac tie?” Jim Acosta asks.

It takes a second for Jake to process the words he’s hearing. Because it _sounds_  like Jim was asking if he was available.

“It was a birthday gift,” Jake notes, aiming for casual.

Jim moves his chair closer to Jake so he can lean in close. He liked putting Jake on-edge, but he also didn’t want there to be any eavesdroppers hearing something they shouldn’t.

“You and I both know why you’re wearing that tie to work.”

“I don’t—”

“Jim and Chris told me ages ago. You forget that I was here for a year before you.”

“But they were hired after I got here,” Jake points out.

“I can’t help the fact that I wore purple to work before you did.”

Jake lets that thought sink in. He flashes back to his first time with Jim and Chris. How unsure of himself he had been, how good it had felt to let everything go with them. He imagines Jim in the same position. Well, maybe not the same. He can’t really picture Jim in the middle, pressed between them. Jake feels his face heat.

“So choir boy Jake Tapper _is_  capable of naughty thoughts,” Jim teases.

“Jim.”

“This is your job, and you’re going to sully your mind with invented lewd images of your coworkers?”

Jake swallows.

“Maybe we should finish this conversation another time.”

He did have work to do, and it didn’t feel right to be turned on at work. When any producer could walk in here and tell them there was breaking news and needed to do a live spot. He couldn’t very well be on-camera with an erection.

“Somehow I don’t think that it’s conversation that you want to finish.”

“ _Jim_.”

Jim slips a hand off the top of his desk and cups Jake’s crotch. Jake sucks in a gasp.

“You could just jerk off. You’ve got time to kill before your show.”

“I could, but I won’t.”

Jim smirks.

“If that’s your way of asking me to do it for you, it needs work.”

That actually _wasn’t_ what Jake had been implying, but the next thing Jake knows, Jim is undoing his belt and unzipping his pants. Jim reaches a hand inside his boxers.

“Someone could see or hear. Someone could walk in.”

Jim slides his hand up.

“Then you’d better come quickly and quietly.”

He’s not proud to admit it, but he does.

 

**[6.1]**

Liz shows up to work in a periwinkle shirt paired with her grey suit the same day Jim shows up wearing an eggplant tie.

“Well, this is unexpected,” Liz says.

Jim feels an invisible thread close the distance between them. He pulls her in, tight, by the waist. She kisses him and feels him get hard against her hip.

“Conference Room B is free today,” Liz says.

“Perfect.”

 

**[6.2]**

Conference Room B is sparse, which is perfect. All Jim has to do is push a few chairs aside, and then Liz hops up. Jim has the presence of mind to lock the door behind him while Liz shimmies out of her pants, panties, and heels. Unfortunately, there wasn’t time for anything more romantic.

Jim’s not picky.

He unzips his fly and pushes his underwear down just far enough to free his cock.

“Ready?” he asks.

“Condom?” Liz asks.

Jim freezes for a moment. He hasn’t carried a condom in his wallet since college…

“Fuck it,” Liz says, shaking her head. “I’m on the pill.”

“Thank god,” Jim says and pushes in.

 

**[7]**

“Wolf, there’s something I’ve been meaning to ask you, but I’m not sure how to,” Anderson says.

Wolf looks up from his newspaper, suspicious. He hates that he thinks he knows where this is going.

“It’s a personal question,” Anderson continues.

Wolf folds up his paper in defeat, giving Anderson his full attention.

“I’m all ears,” he says. “Shoot.”

Anderson giggles.

Now he knows _exactly_ where this is going.

“It’s just.”—giggle—“You know, you’re wearing purple.”

There it is.

“That is correct, Anderson. Is that funny to you for some reason?”

“You—you have to know why I’m laughing. Please tell me I don’t have to explain it to you.”

There’s a brief moment where fear enters Anderson’s eyes, but it leaves as soon as he sees Wolf roll his eyes.

“You forget how long I’ve been here.”

Anderson giggles again.

“Then why do you keep wearing it? I know you don’t, um, participate.”

Wolf gives a world weary sigh.

“I refuse to stop wearing a nice color just because everyone else in the building uses it for their carnal games.”

“Thank you for satisfying a curiosity I’ve had for the past five years.”

Wolf frowns seriously, and that is when Anderson really loses it. Wolf opens his paper again.

Animals. He was surrounded by _animals_.

 

**[8]**

“Occupied!” Erin shouts.

"Sorry!" Jake squeaks.

Jake backs up and slams the door shut behind him, and Jim walks into right into him.

“What’s the hold up?” he asks.

Then Jim sees the look on Jake’s face. He gives a salacious grin.

“Who’s in there?” he asks.

Jim reaches for the doorknob, but Jake bats his hand away.

“It’s not important. We should give them their privacy.”

Jake thinks it’s only fair considering he just did to Erin and Dana what he dreaded would happen to him and Jim. Or any of his coworkers, honestly.

Jim holds his hands up in surrender.

“I won’t open the door, but you can at least satisfy my curiosity. I won’t tell a soul. Scout’s honor.”

Jake licks his lips, the brief image of Dana and Erin kissing—making out, really—burned into his eyes. Jake steers him away from the door, back down the hall before answering.

“Dana and Erin,” he says quietly.

“You know, I saw Dana was wearing maroon today. I was wondering who her hook up was. Good to know.”

“Good to know?” Jake says.

Jim shrugs.

“For future reference.”

“Right.”

Jake keeps walking, and soon Jim has to jog to keep up. Jim gently grabs his arm.

“Hey, did I say something wrong?”

He’s so earnest about it. He doesn’t even realize—

“It’s nothing. I’m just being a jealous idiot.”

Jim cocks his head to the side.

“Jealous? Of what, Jake?”

“It’s nothing. It’s stupid.”

“Maybe. But tell me anyway,” Jim implores.

Jake stops walking.

“You’re never on the show anymore, and even if you had purple on, I’d never know because I never see. And if I never see you—”

Jim shuts him up with a kiss.

“You don’t have to wear purple for us to meet up, you know.”

Jake blinks, stunned.

“I—I didn’t actually. What about Liz?”

“What about Jen?” he counters.

“That’s different.”

“Oh?”

“We—we have an agreement,” Jake explains. “She understands.”

“Liz is very accommodating. She wears purple sometimes, too.”

“I didn’t know that either.”

Apparently there were a lot of things Jake didn’t know.

Jim smiles indulgently at him, cupping a hand to his cheek.

“Think over what I said. Talk to Jen, if that would make you feel better. Than call me. Maybe we can set something up.”

Talking to Jen always made him feel better. And being with Jim would be…Well it would be _being with Jim_.

 

**[9]**

“I saw Jake and Jim having a serious conversation today,” Jim says.

Chris looks up from his phone. He pockets it.

“Oh?”

Jim smirks.

“I think they’ve been playing the game together. My guess is that they’ve been playing for a while.”

Chris nods in understanding. He’s seen the way Jake looks at Jim; they all have.

“We’ve started something,” Jim says. “Created a beast of our own design.”

“A beast with two backs?” Chris asks.

“That’s a good one, and I hate you for it.”

“You don’t hate me,” Chris says.

He says it with enough confidence that he knows they’re on the same page. Like they’ve always been, really.

“Of course not,” Jim says. “I couldn’t.”

He doesn’t have to say it, but he wants to anyway.

“Are you free tonight?” Jim asks.

“I just so happen to be, yes.”

“Good,” Jim says. “Wear something nice.”

Chris smiles. He knows just the thing.


End file.
